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Babe Ruth Biography

Born: February 6, 1895
Baltimore, Maryland
Died: August 16, 1948
New York, New York
American baseball player

Babe Ruth, an American baseball player, was one of sport's most
famous athletes and an enduring legend.

Babe Ruth.
Reproduced by permission of

Getty Images

.

Early years

George Herman Ruth Jr., later known as Babe Ruth, was born on February
6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland, one of George Herman Ruth and Kate
Schamberger's eight children. Of the eight, only George Jr. and a
sister, Mamie, survived. Ruth's father owned a tavern, and
running the business left him and his wife with little time to watch
over their children. Young George began skipping school and getting into
trouble. He also played baseball with other neighborhood children
whenever possible.

At the age of seven Ruth was sent to the St. Mary's Industrial
School for Boys, a school that took care of boys who had problems at
home. It was run by the Brothers (men who had taken vows to lead
religious lives) of a Catholic order of teachers. Ruth wound up staying
there off and on until he was almost twenty. At St. Mary's, Ruth
studied, worked in a tailor shop, and learned values such as sharing and
looking out for smaller, weaker boys. He also developed his baseball
skills with the help of one of the Brothers.

Signs baseball contract

Ruth became so good at baseball (both hitting and as a left-handed
pitcher) that the Brothers wrote a letter to Jack Dunn, manager of the
Baltimore Orioles minor league baseball team, inviting him to come see
Ruth. After watching Ruth play for half an hour, Dunn offered him a
six-month contract for six hundred dollars. Dunn also had to sign papers
making him Ruth's guardian until the boy turned twenty-one.

When Dunn brought Ruth to the Oriole locker room for the first time in
1914, one of the team's coaches said, "Well, here's
Jack's newest babe now!" The nickname stuck, and Babe Ruth
stuck with the team as well, performing so well that he was moved up
later that year to the Boston Red Sox of the American League. Ruth
pitched on championship teams in 1915 and 1916, but he was such a good
hitter that he was switched to the out-field so that he could play every
day. (Pitchers usually play only every four or five days because of the
strain that pitching has on their throwing arm.) In 1919 his twenty-nine
home runs set a new record and led to the beginning of a new playing
style. Up to that point home
runs occurred very rarely, and baseball's best players were
usually pitchers and high-average "singles" hitters. By
1920 Ruth's frequent home runs made the "big bang"
style of play more popular and successful.

Becomes legend with the Yankees

In 1920 Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees for one hundred
thousand dollars and a three hundred fifty thousand dollar loan. This
was a huge event which increased his popularity. In New York his
achievements and personality made him a national celebrity. Off the
field he enjoyed eating, drinking, and spending or giving away his money
outright; he earned and spent thousands of dollars. By 1930 he was paid
eighty thousand dollars for a season, a huge sum for that time, and his
endorsement income (money received in return for public support of
certain companies' products) usually added up to be more than his
baseball salary.

Ruth led the Yankees to seven American League championships and four
World Series titles. He led the league in home runs many times, and the
60 he hit in 1927 set a record for the 154-game season. (Roger Maris hit
61 home runs in a 162-game season in 1961.) Ruth's lifetime total
of 714 home runs is second only to the 755 hit by Hank Aaron
(1934–). With a .342 lifetime batting average for 22 seasons of
play, many consider Babe Ruth the game's greatest player.

When Ruth's career ended in 1935, he had hoped to become a major
league manager, but his reputation for being out of control made teams
afraid to hire him. In 1946 he became head of the Ford Motor
Company's junior baseball program. He died in New York City on
August 16, 1948.

For More Information

Creamer, Robert W.
Babe: The Legend Comes to Life.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974.

this was so helpful i am still working on this repot and getting everything that i need thank you so much i realy love love love that you did it and i was wondering why did you have so much time to do this and why everybody that made a comment say the same thing

glad to find this page.my son was given a picture of THE BABES.the only picture ever taken in uniform.and the first meeting of boston.july 13 1943 in fenway park.shaken hands with a player from boston.whos the player he posed with. shaken hands with.if you know who he is can you pls email me
Thank You
popawash@aol.com

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